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catataxis

catataxis noun: a confusion between hierarchical levels; a two-way dependency relation, such as that between a subject and a finite verb.

Noun

catataxis

  1. A confusion between hierarchical levels; a two-way dependency relation, such as that between a subject and a finite verb.
    • No content distinction will be needed that does not find its own mark at the level of expression. One way dependency relations (hypotaxis) will not suffice. In the vein of Jespersen and Hjelmslev I shall employ two way dependency relations as well (nexus or catataxis). The relations between...2001, Lars Heltoft, Recasting Danish subjects, in Jan Terje Faarlund, Grammatical relations in change, page 176

Origin of catataxis

From Ancient Greek κατάταξις (katátaxis, “ordering, arranging”).

Questions about catataxis

What does catataxis mean?
Catataxis means a confusion between hierarchical levels; a two-way dependency relation, such as that between a subject and a finite verb.
What part of speech is catataxis?
Catataxis is a noun.

Words near catataxis in the dictionary

  1. catastrophizes
  2. catastrophizing
  3. catastrophy
  4. catastrophë
  5. catastroscope
  6. catataxis
  7. catatectic
  8. catathermometer
  9. catathermometers
  10. catathesis
  11. catathrenia

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: catataxis (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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